China has sought to evade its international responsibilities for a quarter of a century

Editorial: A new resolution points to the Chinese central government being able to establish security command centres in Hong Kong, presumably to crush any dissent, and restrict criticism of the People’s Republic

President Xi Jinping arrives for the opening session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing yesterday (AFP/Getty)

Ever since Hong Kong was, rightly, relinquished by the British colonial authorities and restored to Chinese sovereignty more than two decades ago, Beijing has been playing cat and mouse with its inhabitants.

Now, once again comes a none-too-stealthy attempt to undermine Hong Kong’s right to determine its own affairs, with Beijing trying, as before, to impose its will on the territory via some fresh law-making. In the middle of a pandemic, China still has time to fuss about its awkward province.

On and off for almost a quarter of a century China has sought to evade its international responsibilities under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a treaty recognised by the United Nations, and to tighten its grip on the internal affairs of the autonomous and relatively free Hong Kong region. In 2003 and again last year the attempts to do so were resisted, overwhelmingly peacefully, by the people of Hong Kong. They remain content with their democratic structures, independent judiciary, free and critical press, successful financial markets, and the rule of law. The pragmatic “One Country, Two Systems” policy towards Hong Kong devised by the then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in the 1990s still suits the people of Hong Kong; the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party seems to have tired of it.